The Programme for International Student Assessment is set to include a measure of "global competence," teacher and author Wendi Pillars writes in this blog post. She shares how to turn theory about what constitutes global competence into practise and ideas for assessing the skill.

Maggie MacDonnell, a middle- and high-school teacher at a remote school in the Canadian Arctic, has received the Global Teacher Prize. MacDonnell, in her six years with the school, has focused on addressing community challenges such as gender issues, suicide and drug and alcohol abuse.

Mexican Education Secretary Aurelio Nuno has announced a proposal to make students globally competitive and has called for schools to provide English-language classes from elementary school to high school. He said the goal is that Mexican students will be speaking English fluently within the next 20 years.

UK researchers found similar reported negative online experiences such as pornography, cyberbullying and other inappropriate material between children whose home computers had internet filtering software and those whose computers didn't have such software. The findings in the Journal of Pediatrics were based on 1,030 interviews involving adolescents ages 12 to 15 and their parents.

Language is important to the growth of young learners, writes Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England. In this blog post, she discusses initiatives that are examples of primary students embracing and benefiting from learning languages at a young age.

I have accepted fear as a part of life, specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown. I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: Turn back.

Erica Jong, writer

About ECIS

Founded in 1965, ECIS is a global membership organisation that provides professional development opportunities to its members who are comprised of international schools, individuals and educational organisations.